Candle package and method of making candle



May 28, 1968 c. M. HICKS v CANDLE PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING CANDLE INVENTOR Cfhavlcs iQeKs Filed June 29, 1964 BY TWf ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,385,649 CANDLE PACKAGE AND METHOD 0F MAKING CANDLE Charles M. Hicks, 145 Highland Road, Southern Pines, N.C. 28387 Filed June 29, 1964, Ser. No. 378,690 12 Claims. (Cl. 431-126) This invention relates to candles and to methods and materials for making same.

Heretofore, the decorator or housewife lacking facilities for making candles has been relegated to reliance upon the imagination and taste of the commercial candle manufacturer for the style and appearance of molded candles. The term molded candles is used to identify conventional candles made by pouring molten wax about a wick in a mold. The mold is included in the sale of the candle and may comprise any decorative object, such as a brandy snifter.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide a package of materials and a method of making candles whereby one unskilled in the art of candle making can fashion candles in any desired mold and in a desired color or combination of colors which will produce the desired decorative effect.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the claims and the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the assembled package according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a completed candle made by the method of the invention from the contents of the package of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the completed candle taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a self supporting, anchored wick; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the wick taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

Referring to the drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is presented, a package including all necessary materials for making candles according to the present method in forms or molds of the consumers choice is illustrated in FIGURE 1. The package 10 comprises a container 11, wax particles 12, a selfsupporting wick 13, and a wick anchor 14. Instructions to the consumer are also included and may be printed directly upon the container. While the wrapper or container 11 is illustrated as a heat-sealed plastic bag, any other suitable packaging materials may be used as a container.

Prior to the present invention, it had been thought that a satisfactory candle could be produced only by forming a solid mass of wax about a wick. This has been done by the dip method which requires many clippings of a wick into a Wax bath followed by cooling until a candle of the desired diameter is obtained. The wick pouring method consists of pouring hot molten wax over a wick followed by cooling, successive pours being necessary to build up the candle to desired size. Another method consists of rolling up a sheet of beeswax around a wick to build up a candle of desired size.

In all known methods the wax has been formed in a monolithic integral mass about the wick and has been tightly pressed against or adhered to the wick. The successful execution of these steps has required facilities and skills not readily available to the average consumer and it has been thought until the present that a homogeneous mass of wax tightly packed around or adhered to a wick was necessary to produce a satisfactory candle.

It has been surprisingly found that an eminently satisfactory candle can be formed from particulated or granulated wax placed loosely about a wick in a form or mold. The wax granules or particles are simply poured about a wick in a desired mold and the wick lighted. As indicated in FIGURE 3, no compaction is necessary since it has been found that the flame will burn satisfactorily despite the air spaces about the wick and between the wax particles. The heat from the flame will melt the wax particles closest to the wick and will eventually melt substantially all of the wax disposed about the wick in the mold before the wax is consumed and passed off in the atmosphere as products of combustion.

The consumer need only supply a mold or form 15 in order to make a candle 16 from the package of FIGURE 1, which harmonizes with his artistic tastes and aesthetic values. The form serves as a mold or receptacle for the wax particles 12 and wick 13 from which a candle is to be formed and may comprise glass tumblers or vases, pottery jars, metal cans or boxes, or anything capable of Supporting the wax particles about the upstanding wick.

To make the candle 16, the consumer need only position the wick 13 within the form 15 and pour the wax particles about the wick. Preferably, but not necessarily, the wick 13 is first attached to the wick anchor 14. Alternatively, the Wax particles 12 may be first poured into the cavity of form 15 and any type of wick, with or without anchor 14, may be thereafter inserted into the mass of particles, imparting a substantially upright position to the wick, the bottom of the wick resting upon or near the bottom of the cavity of form 15. It is contemplated that the wick 1'3 and the anchor 14 may be pre-assembled in substantially the manner illustrated at 17 in FIGURE 4 as a part of the package 10, in which event the consumer need only position the anchored wick 17in a desired form 15 before pouring in the granulated or particulated wax 12.

Compression or compaction of the particles 12 within the form 15 does not adversely affect the candle and the particles may be compressed to provide room for more wax particles, thus increasing the amount of fuel and enabling the candle to be burned for a longer time.

Tests have shown that the burning qualities of the wax are not materially aifected by the size of the wax particles 12. Satisfactory results have been obtained using granules of wax of about an eighth of an inch mean diameter. Larger granules have also been used successfully, as have smaller particles defined by powdering the wax. In practice, the wax may be made in any desired size of particle which will pour satisfactorily and which will maintain its integrity during shipping. The particles may be formed by any process such as grinding, scraping of chips or flakes, or spraying liquid wax into air. The particles need not be uniform in size or shape.

For purposes of the invention, any fuel wax may be particulated and used. A fully refined parafiin having a melting point of l28130 F. and mixed with about 5% microwax to reduce the paraffin crystal for better color distribution has been found to be highly satisfactory. The wax may be dyed and/ or scented as desired.

While not essential to successful practice of the invention, it is deemed preferable to use a self-supporting wick 13 which may comprise a metallic center or core of wire 18 having a low melting point and an outer covering 19 of wax-impregnated braided fibre. The wire imparts rigidity to the wick, enabling it to maintain a substantially upright position as the surrounding particles of wax become liquid during burning of the candle. The diameter of the wick 13 to be included in the package shown in FIGURE 1 may be so chosen as to pre-determine the approximate diameter of the pool of liquid wax formed about the Wick as the candle is burned.

It is contemplated that the consumer may wish to form variegated candles from wax particles of different colors, and toward this end the package 10 may include wax particles of different colors indiscriminately mixed, or, alternatively wax particles of a given color may be segregated within the package from particles of a different color. Striking effects may also be obtained by including within the package 10 wax particles which will melt at diflerent temperatures and colored accordingly. Thus, the particles of different colors and having different melting points may be poured indiscriminately into a form and, as the candle burns, the particles having the higher melting point will float momentarily in the liquid provided by the different colored particles having a lower melting point. It is also contemplated that wax and other substances of desired shapes, such as stars, etc., may be included in the package with wax particles having a lower melting point, or, the wax particles themselves may be shaped as desired. The shaped substances may or may not melt as the temperature within the form increases.

There is thus proxided a convenient package or kit containing all necessary components for making a candle in a form provided by the consumer according to the present method.

Although the invention has been described with some particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of elements may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1. A candle comprising an open-topped, non-flammable, cup-shaped receptacle having a bottom; a wick holder in the receptacle resting upon the bottom thereof; a wick supported by the holder and held thereby in a substantially erect position substantially centrally disposed within the receptacle; and wax granules filling said receptacle to a level slightly below the upper end of the Wick.

2. A candle comprising a container, a plurality of Wax granules Within the container and a length of wick material embedded in the wax granules with one end extending therefrom to define a candle.

3. A candle comprising a plurality of separate, unadhered, wax granules; a wick; means for arranging said granules around said wick, wherein said granules provide fuel to support combustion of said wick.

4. A candle according to claim 3 which also includes an anchor for the Wick.

5. A candle according to claim 3 wherein the wax particles are colored.

6. A candle according to claim 5 wherein some of the wax particles are of a different color than other wax particles within the candle.

7. A candle according to claim 6 wherein the wax particles of one color are segregated within the candle from other wax particles of a different color within the candle.

8. A candle according to claim 3 wherein some of the wax particles have a lower melting point than other particles Within the candle.

9. A candle according to claim 6 wherein the said some of the wax particles have a lower melting point than the said other wax particles.

10. A candle according to claim 3 wherein the wick is self-supporting.

11. A candle according to claim 4 wherein the Wick and anchor are pre-assembled within the candle.

12. A candle according to claim 3 which includes shaped non-wax substances in addition to the wax particles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,002,221 10/1961 Wright 67-22 X FOREIGN PATENTS 84,495 6/1921 Australia.

909,032 11/1945 France.

CHARLES I. MYHRE, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Examiner. 

3. A CANDLE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE, UNADHERED, WAX GRANULES; A WICK; MEANS FOR ARRANGING SAID GRANULES AROUND SAID WICK, WHEREIN SAID GRANULES PROVIDE FUEL TO SUPPORT COMBUSTION OF SAID WICK. 